Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Medicinal Decoction

Shen Hao left the small restaurant, called for his guards, and proceeded to the teleportation array to return to Fengri City. Yet in the shadowy corner behind him, completely unaware, a gaunt middle-aged man in white robes had been watching him intently. With a wave of his hand, two ordinary-looking men nearby quickly followed after him to the teleportation array.

Half an hour later, the middle-aged man in white slipped through the alleys to the rear entrance of a forbidding building. He flashed a red waist token adorned with a Taotie pattern and was granted entry.

He traversed a dark passage and finally stood quietly at the door of a quiet chamber.

He waited about half a stick of incense before a voice sounded from within: "Come in."

"Yes, my lord."

He pushed the door open and entered. The chamber was empty except for a single lamp. On the floor, sitting cross-legged, was Pang Ban, Commander of the Xuanqing Guard.

The middle-aged man in white stepped inside, dropped to his knees, bowing his head all the way to the ground, not daring to speak without leave.

"Where is he?"

"He has already returned to Fengri City. I had two skilled men follow him."

"What about the other news? Have you verified it?"

"His origins can’t be authenticated. According to the records, his family was originally from Jingzhong Xinliang City, fled famine as a child and came to Li City, met a loose cultivator on the road who took him into the cultivation gate. Later, when the loose cultivator died, he survived on his meager cultivation, entering Xuanqing Guard’s preparatory camp to eke out a living. There is scant witness testimony for this, nothing definitive.

But every detail after he joined the Xuanqing Guard can be traced, clear and verified without fail.

Additionally, this person possesses an unusually strange talent, suspected to be ever-increasing. Especially in the past two years, his progress has been rapid; he advanced from Qi Refinement fourth and fifth layers to his current Gathering Spirit fifth layer in one leap. And... he went from Gathering Spirit fourth layer to fifth layer in less than two months."

"Hmm?! Less than two months? Advancing from Gathering Spirit fourth layer to fifth layer?"

"Yes, sir."

Pang Ban’s lips curled ever so slightly: "Is this the genius that forms after birth?" He paused, then said, "Continue delving into his background. The famine from those years should leave traces for you to find. Also, based on your judgment, is this person trustworthy?"

The middle-aged man in white was silent a moment before replying, "In response, my lord, I have not seen any filth from him."

"Then he is trustworthy." Pang Ban seemed to value the kneeling man’s opinion greatly. "Keep watching him. Make sure he doesn’t notice you, don’t interfere in any of his actions. Just report as needed."

"Understood, sir. However, in recent days, I found there are others secretly investigating him."

"Who are they?"

"Very experienced, extremely concealed, no handle to grab onto. It’s very much like the methods of the Moon Shadow Tower." When the middle-aged man in white uttered "Moon Shadow Tower," a distinct trace of emotion, a hint of wariness, appeared in his voice.

"Oh? Even though he’s merely a Junior Fifth Grade Hundred Households Officer, someone has paid a hefty sum for Moon Shadow Tower to dig into him? Heh, seems this kid is hiding more things. Assign more men to Fengri City, watch him, and protect him as well. Right now, this kid is a promising seedling in the Xuanqing Guard—don’t let anyone break him."

"Yes, my lord. I’ll send more men to Fengri City as soon as I return, and guarantee his safety."

Pang Ban waved his hand, indicating dismissal, as he still had unfinished business to tend to. But he noticed the other still knelt, not rising: "Something else?"

"My lord, there’s news from the palace this morning."

The palace?

Pang Ban visibly jolted, his brows creasing. "What news?"

"Last night, eunuchs from the Imperial Hospital saw Imperial Physician Chen decocting medicinal broth in the pharmacy; the dregs contained remnants of Five-Grain Yellow. I inquired—it’s a potent drug, stimulates potential and stamina but causes severe damage to foundations. Usually used for emergencies, almost never included in medicinal broths."

"What about the dregs?"

"The eunuch only had a brief glance, had no chance to take it, before Imperial Physician Chen returned and wrapped it up, then threw it into the furnace and burnt it to ashes.

Taken alongside Imperial Physician Chen’s daily movements and scope of practice, I believe that powerful medicine was most likely prepared for Your Majesty."

Pang Ban’s aura became visibly disordered, silent for a long while before speaking. "Why has it only just been discovered?"

"The palace stock of Five-Grain Yellow has always been fixed, never lacking, and Imperial Physician Chen was never seen using it in the pharmacy for decocting broth. Presumably, he brought it in from outside the palace, so it was overlooked for a time."

"Useless!"

With a low shout, the kneeling man was blasted several meters by invisible Qi Force. Blood spilled from his mouth, which he forcibly swallowed, climbed back up, knelt again, and dared not utter a sound.

"Watch Chen Haoye closely—even if he visits the latrine several times a day, you must know how long each visit lasts! Also, immediately monitor all star officials of the Five Gates, report any signs of abnormality at once. Go!"

"Yes, sir, I take my leave." Before departing, he wiped the blood off the floor with his sleeve and then rose to exit the quiet chamber.

Once he was gone, Pang Ban entirely lost his mood for work. Agitated, he rose from the puduan, pacing back and forth in the chamber.

Why would Your Majesty need such a powerful medicine?

Is Imperial Physician Chen Haoye being manipulated to harm Your Majesty? Pang Ban shook his head, denying his own suspicion. Chen Haoye had grown up as the Emperor’s study companion, then entered a sect to learn medicine. His cultivation is mediocre, yet his medical skill is unmatched in the realm. His family has long received imperial favor, their fate bound to the royal family—a clan that would perish before the royal might, so double-mindedness is impossible.

Then it must be Your Majesty’s own necessity for such a potent drug? For what purpose?

Pang Ban’s unease grew. He thought about how, over the past year, Your Majesty had deliberately allowed various factions to grow unchecked, refusing to intervene—even the princes’ increasingly outrageous behavior went unrestrained under royal acquiescence.

Even the Xuanqing Guard, once marked as the Emperor’s personal force, rarely hears Your Majesty’s name spoken lately—it seems he cares for nothing at all.

This recalled a phrase suddenly to Pang Ban’s mind: Just watching you.

Watching you laugh, watching you cry, watching your intricate schemes, watching you leap and dodge, or even watching you root in place, unafraid though the sky might collapse.

Only when everything is clear will it be time to act.

This is not a good omen. It implies that Your Majesty’s health may be dire, thus resorting to such ruthless, desperate measures.

Of course, it’s all Pang Ban’s speculation. He dares not yet be certain.

That afternoon, Pang Ban left the Commander’s Office and went straight to the palace gate to request an audience with the Emperor, but was told His Majesty did not wish to see him. He sent another memorandum, stating urgent matters to report, requested an audience again, and after nearly an hour was finally granted entry to the palace.

Such difficulty in seeing the Emperor had become routine for Pang Ban—almost the norm in the past two years. This very trend had shaken the Xuanqing Guard’s once-solid standing.

Following a eunuch, Pang Ban crossed the vast palace city square, not heading to the Ten Thousand People’s Palace or the Diligent Governance Hall, but circling to the rear Fuan Palace.

Pang Ban’s face was expressionless, but inwardly he was surprised—for it was rare for His Majesty to summon ministers in a palace mainly used for rest like Fuan Palace.